Chapter 12: Chapter Eleven: Moving Into the Haunted House

Chen Yan’s eyes immediately lit up, and his spirit visibly brightened.

“Haunted house? How haunted is it?”

Hu Shangke was baffled.

Classmate, your mental state seems off!

Why does it feel like you suddenly got excited?

Hu Shangke straightened up: “There really is such a place, in Jiangning District, Chengnan, within a villa complex.

It’s nestled against a hill, a standalone three-story villa, totaling over four hundred square meters, with excellent renovation and fully furnished. High-end furniture, appliances, and central air conditioning included.

The yard is large, with extensive green space and a private outdoor swimming pool—the total outdoor area exceeds one mu.

Let me tell you, brother, this kind of house is definitely luxury-class!

Under normal circumstances, the monthly rent wouldn’t be under fifty thousand—you wouldn’t even get to see it!”

“What’s the price now?”

“Fifteen thousand,” Hu Shangke said quickly.

Chen Yan smiled: “That’s a brutal discount—what happened inside?”

Hu Shangke’s face took on a secretive look: “Love murder! A woman teamed up with her lover and killed her husband, chopping him up right in the house!”

Chen Yan grew even more energized: “A dismemberment case!”

“Yeah!”

“One person died, and the rent dropped straight to fifteen thousand?”

“Yeah!”

Chen Yan felt a bit embarrassed: “Uh… is there anything even more haunted? Like a house where multiple people died?”

“…,” Hu Shangke felt chest tightness: “Bro, should I just take you straight to a graveyard?”

·

Chen Yan asked Hu Shangke every detail about the house’s history.

They were classmates; Hu Shangke wanted to earn a commission, but his conscience wasn’t entirely gone.

After all, he was a recent graduate, still carrying a touch of innocent foolishness—he didn’t want to cheat a classmate and ruin his reputation among peers. If he’d spent a few more years in the real world, he might’ve been different.

Hu Shangke laid out everything he knew:

The house did have a dismemberment case, years ago—it was quite a sensation at the time.

Hu Shangke didn’t know the exact details, only that the wife killed the husband.

Probably a love murder.

The wife was naturally arrested; whether she was executed or not, he didn’t know.

Later, the family put the house up for sale… after all, who in their right mind would want to live there?

They sold it dirt cheap—practically at a fire-sale price.

Normally, a house with a murder history is hard to sell, no matter how cheap.

But somehow, a bold investor snapped it up, buying it for less than half the market price.

The guy wasn’t stupid.

The house couldn’t be sold outright right away.

So he figured out a way to rent it out cheaply first!

As long as the house was rented out for a few years, with several tenants moving in and out,

even at low rent, it would at least cover property fees and maintenance costs.

Plus, no matter how haunted a house is, after years of occupancy and human presence, the past incidents fade into obscurity.

By then, few people would still care.

At that point, a house bought for half a million could be resold for two million at market price.

In a few years, a hundred percent return on investment.

It’s a peculiar long-term investment—with a high return rate.

But… few people dare to do this business.

·

“The murder in this house happened years ago. Since the current owner bought it, he’s already rented it to three sets of tenants, and none of them had any problems.

Our company folks privately guess the owner will rent it out for another year or two, then put it up for sale.

You’ll only get this deal for maybe one or two years—longer than that, he probably won’t rent it anymore.

But it fits your requirements perfectly.”

Hu Shangke had just laid all his cards on the table for Chen Yan.

No time to waste—Chen Yan immediately decided, grabbing Hu Shangke to go see the house.

The two went out, hailed a taxi, and headed straight to Jiangning District in the south of Jin Ling.

The house sat at the foot of General Mountain, in the innermost part of the villa complex, right against the hillside.

The location was quiet—the house was built right beside the hill. Neighboring homes were all over a hundred meters away.

The yard was sizable, with a multi-level courtyard layout—Hu Shangke had said the yard was one mu, but he’d actually understated it.

On the side facing the hill, the courtyard wall bordered the slope—above it lay Wuren … if you had the guts, you could break a gate in the wall and walk up the hill into unregulated forest.

Chen Yan was immediately satisfied.

The renovation was exquisite—luxurious by the standards of several years ago.

The furniture and fittings were all high-end, with central air conditioning and underfloor heating.

The living room had a double-height ceiling, a massive crystal chandelier radiating opulence.

But the overall decor style felt dated; the furniture was all solid wood, suited to older tastes.

Young people probably wouldn’t like this style.

But Chen Yan didn’t care!

Three months ago he was sleeping in an eight-person dorm!

He only cared: big space, remote location, low price.

And yet so luxurious.

What more could he ask for?

As for the haunted house?

His occult cultivation should reach the next level soon.

Then he might be able to master one or two offensive techniques from his secret manual.

If any evil entity dared show its face, a single strike of the True Yang Five Thunder Art would send it straight to reincarnation!

If not, summoning a ghost servant to serve him—wouldn’t that be a challenge too?

Chen Yan immediately paid the deposit and had Hu Shangke arrange the contract.

As for the keys, he just slipped them straight into his pocket.

Hu Shangke, eager to collect his commission, acted swiftly.

Within three days, Hu arranged for both parties to sign the contract.

The actual owner never showed up—rich tycoons don’t bother appearing in person; he sent a subordinate with a power of attorney.

Chen Yan transferred six months’ rent. Hu Shangke received half a month’s rent as commission.

This old classmate had done his best throughout the deal; his earlier advice to Chen Yan had been sincere and well-intentioned.

Chen Yan didn’t agree with it, but he still owed him gratitude.

He paid the commission generously, without haggling.

The whole process went smoothly and pleasantly; once everything was settled, the other party left quickly.

In short, Chen Yan was happy, Hu Shangke was happy, and the other party was happy too.

But as they were leaving, the other party couldn’t help giving Chen Yan a long, deep look.

These days… how can someone move into a haunted house and be so cheerful?

Are Gen Zers really this fearless?

·

Chen Yan called his old landlord to check out.

He had a few hundred yuan in deposit left, but he didn’t bother chasing it.

This matter was messy.

Legally, since he broke the contract by moving out early, the landlord could legally withhold the deposit.

Morally, the landlord had been shoddy—never fulfilling maintenance obligations.

It was a battle of who was worse.

But Chen Yan didn’t want to waste time—spend days over a few hundred yuan?

Not worth it.

He packed his suitcase and moved into his new “luxury villa.”

The only regret was…

When he moved in, Chen Yan used his Heaven’s Eye Qi-Viewing Technique to scan the house.

Hmm—he saw nothing strange.

He was a little disappointed.

Hmm... no ghosts?

·

That night.

In the thirty-square-meter master bedroom on the third floor, Chen Yan threw himself onto the king-sized bed, sprawling out on his back.

The room was warmed by air conditioning and underfloor heating, as cozy as spring.

The lighting had been set to a warm tone.

The huge floor-to-ceiling window looked out onto the mountains...

Chen Yan exhaled: Now this was comfortable!

·

“What? Chen Yan moved out?”

The girl stood at the entrance of the rental apartment, suppressing her irritation, staring at the man inside.

He looked about thirty, squinting at her...

Suppressing the urge to kick him in the groin, the girl still wore a sweet, innocent smile and spoke softly: “Then, do you know how to contact him?”

“...I don’t know. I’m not close to him.” The man was one of the apartment’s tenants; though his gaming had been interrupted by her knocking, he was patient, seeing she was a beautiful girl: “The landlord definitely has his number.”

The male tenant secretly sized up the girl... such a pretty girl, why wear such an old-fashioned cotton coat?

Huh? There’s coal dust on her clothes?

But her face is really striking...

The girl ignored the tenant’s gaze: “Then, could you please give me the landlord’s phone number?”

The tenant pulled out his phone, opened his contacts, then suddenly froze.

“You think I’ll just give it to you?” The man grinned slyly: “Beautiful girl, do you have a boyfriend? Add me on WeChat first, then I’ll give you the landlord’s number.”

The girl’s smile slowly faded.

She narrowed her eyes at the man, then glanced around—the hallway was empty.

“Is anyone home with you?” the girl asked softly.

“No one. Why? Beautiful girl, come in and sit down?”

The girl nodded: “Mm. Good. No one’s there.”

Saying this, she fixed her gaze on the man’s eyes and gently blew out a breath.

The breath landed on his face, and his vision instantly blurred.

He seemed to see a strange glint flash in the girl’s eyes!

The girl casually took his phone; the man showed no reaction.

Half-dazed, he heard the girl whisper:

“You’re a dog. You’re hungry. Go eat.”

The man: “…………”

His eyes glazed over, and he suddenly turned stiffly around.

“Woof! Woof woof!!”

Muttering softly, he walked straight toward the bathroom...

The girl held the phone, scrolled through the contacts, found the name [Landlord], and quickly recorded the number.

Then she tossed the phone back into the room and shut the door behind her.

Turned and left.

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